The influence of the scale of mining activity and mine site remediation on the contamination legacy of historical metal mining activity

Globally, thousands of kilometres of rivers are degraded due to the presence of elevated concentrations of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) sourced from historical metal mining activity. In many countries, the presence of contaminated water and river sediment creates a legal requirement to address such problems. Remediation of mining-associated point sources has often been focused upon improving river water quality; however, this study evaluates the contaminant legacy present within river sediments and attempts to assess the influence of the scale of mining activity and post-mining remediation upon the magnitude of PHE contamination found within contemporary river sediments. Data collected from four exemplar catchments indicates a strong relationship between the scale of historical mining, as measured by ore output, and maximum PHE enrichment factors, calculated versus environmental quality guidelines. The use of channel slope as a proxy measure for the degree of channel-floodplain coupling indicates that enrichment factors for PHEs in contemporary river sediments may also be the highest where channel-floodplain coupling is the greatest. Calculation of a metric score for mine remediation activity indicates no clear influence of the scale of remediation activity and PHE enrichment factors for river sediments. It is suggested that whilst exemplars of significant successes at improving post-remediation river water quality can be identified; river sediment quality is a much more long-lasting environmental problem. In addition, it is suggested that improvements to river sediment quality do not occur quickly or easily as a result of remediation actions focused a specific mining point sources. Data indicate that PHEs continue to be episodically dispersed through river catchments hundreds of years after the cessation of mining activity, especially during flood flows. The high PHE loads of flood sediments in mining-affected river catchments and the predicted changes to flood frequency, especially, in many river catchments, provides further evidence of the need to enact effective mine remediation strategies and to fully consider the role of river sediments in prolonging the environmental legacy of historical mine sites.     

Effects of pig manure containing copper and zinc on microbial community assessed via phospholipids in soils

Pig manure (PM) is widely used as an organic fertilizer to increase yields of crops. Excessive application of compost containing relatively great concentrations of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) can change soil quality. To clarify the effects of different rates of application and to determine the optimal rate of fertilization, PM containing 1,115 mg Cu kg^?1, dry mass (dm) and 1,497 mg Zn kg^?1, dm was applied to alkaline soil at rates of 0, 11, 22, 44, 88, and 222 g PM kg^?1, dm. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) were used to assess soil microbial community composition. Application of PM resulted in greater concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), NH₄ ⁺-N, NO₃ ^?-N, total carbon (TC), soil organic matter (SOM) but lesser pH values. Soils with application rates of 88–222 g PM kg^?1, dm had concentrations of total and EDTA-extractable Cu and Zn significantly greater than those in soil without PM, and concentrations of T-Cu and T-Zn in these amended soils exceeded maximum limits set by standards in china. Except in the soil with a rate of 11 g PM kg^?1, dm, total bacterial and fungal PLFAs were directly proportional to rate of application of PM. Biomasses of bacteria and fungi were significantly greater in soils with application rates of 44–222 g PM kg^?1, dm than in the soil without PM. SOM, TC and EDTA-Zn had the most direct influence on soil microbial communities. To improve fertility of soils and maintain quality of soil, rate of application should be 22–44 g PM kg^?1 dm, soil containing Cu and Zn.     

Towards a sustainable energy future—exploring current barriers and potential solutions in Thailand

Renewable energy is considered an indispensable basis of sustainable energy systems as electricity generation from renewable sources results in low emissions of greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuel based electricity and contributes to sustainable development. However, effective strategies and conducive institutional settings are needed for advancement of such clean electricity systems. Although Thailand, as a nation, has a huge potential for renewable energy utilization, its total amount of electricity generation from renewables is relatively small and could be enlarged substantially. Lack of policy mechanisms, institutional development and financing exist as major barriers for Thailand in this regard. Investigation of the nation’s current energy strategy implementation shows that relevant energy and development policies are at different stages of implementation and institutional settings are continuously evolving. This paper argues that further significant efforts could be made towards advancement of renewable electricity and thus achievement of energy sustainability in Thailand. Resource planning, effective policy and institutions, focussed planning for energy sustainability and implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol could facilitate further advancement of renewables for the nation.     

煤气脱硫废料综合利用新工艺

针对煤气脱硫废料（简称废料）的成分（硫、碳、萘及少量其他有机物）,提出了一种处理废料的新工艺,先用乙酸乙酯提取废料中的萘和少量其他有机物,再用复合溶剂B加热溶解废料,热过滤得碳粉,最后将溶液冷却结晶分离出硫。实验结果表明：在乙酸乙酯与废料的质量比（R1）为3.75,提取温度为60℃,提取时间为4h的条件下,萘回收率为98%,纯度大于等于70%,在复合溶剂B与提取剩余物的质量比（R2）为2.69,过滤温度为100℃的条件下,硫回收率接近100%,纯度大于等于99%,碳回收率和纯度为100%。     

工业烟气氨法-络合法同时脱硫脱硝

在脱硫脱硝喷淋装置上采用氨法-络合法处理工业烟气。考察了吸收液pH、Fe(Ⅱ)EDTA浓度、初始烟气浓度、液气比对烟气同时脱硫脱硝效果的影响。实验结果表明:吸收液的酸碱度通过影响Fe(Ⅱ)与EDTA的络合形式进而影响NO去除率;SO_2去除率主要受吸收液pH和初始SO_2质量浓度的影响;当吸收液pH大于8、吸收液Fe(Ⅱ)EDTA浓度大于0.100 mol/L、初始SO_2质量浓度小于1 500 mg/m3、初始NO质量浓度为1 200 mg/m3时,SO_2去除率均在95%以上,NO去除率为54%;当液气比由1 L/m3增大至4 L/m3时,有效脱硫时间和有效脱硝时间分别增长了7 min和4 min。     

广州市生活饮用水地表水源地微量元素调查

对广州市秀全、巴江、江村、石门、西村、刘屋洲、南洲和沙湾等主要生活饮用水地表水源地中钼、钴、铍、硼、锑、镍、钒、钛、锡、银和钡等微量元素含量水平进行了调查,并采用单因子污染指数法和内梅罗综合污染指数法对微量元素水质进行了评价。结果表明,硼和锡在所有地表水源地均未检出,铍在部分地表水源地有检出,其他检测项目在所有地表水源地均有检出。整体而言,微量元素含量水平不高,地表水源地由北往南微量元素内梅罗指数呈逐渐降低态势,南部水源地水质优于北部水源地。巴江和西部水源地镍含量相对较高,电镀企业排污监管力度有待进一步加强。     

Occupational Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons During Diesel Combustion

Identification and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Diesel exhaust in the working environment and assessment of workers’ occupational exposure to these suspected human carcinogens were the aim of this experimental investigation.

The range of exposure factors calculated on the basis of 9 individual PAH concentrations determined in personal air samples shows that time-averaged concentration of these compounds did not exceed the Polish Maximum Admissible Concentration (MAC) value for PAHs, that is, 2 μg·m^–3. The highest concentrations of PAHs were determined in the breathing zone of forklift operators. The maximum exposure factor was 0.427 μg·m^–3 (about 1/4 of MAC).     

Analysis of the Energy Embodied in Foreign Goods Trade of China

In recent years, scientists have been increasingly interested in the energy embodied in traded goods among countries. In this article, the direct energy intensities in various economic sectors of China were calculated with the data of energy consumption and output value of each sector, and the input-output table was used to estimate the external energy consumption. The total energy intensity of all sectors was then obtained. From the data of international trade, the energy embodied in goods trade of China was estimated for the period of 1994-2001. During this period, the average energy intensity of imported goods was always higher than that of exported ones. As a country with a surplus in international goods trade, China actually imported net embodied energy in the past few years. The net embodied energy imported was at the same magnitude of the imported energy in the form of fossil fuels.     

生态系统健康与环境管理

环境管理和生态系统健康是密不可分的,生态系统健康是环境管理的目的,生态系统健康为环境管理提供了新的思路、新的方法,健康的生态系统为实现区域可持续发展提供技术支撑和发展基础.生态系统健康的发展演替过程是优化环境管理的步骤.优化的环境管理为生态系统健康发展提供宏观决策和社会经济保障.本文从学科发展的角度论述了生态系统健康产生的背景、理论基础和应用途径;从学科交叉的角度论述了生态系统健康的评价和与环境管理的关系.提出了环境管理的目标:健康的生态系统→健康的环境→健康的食品→健康的人类生态系统→健康的社会发展.